The Grim Cellar

1963, UK, Directed by Steve Sekely

Colour, Running Time: 94 minutes

DVD, Region 2, BBC Worldwide, Video: Letterbox 2.20:1, Audio: Mono

A prolonged meteor storm initially seems harmless due to the fact that the rocks appear to be burning up through the atmosphere before any damage to the Earth’s surface is done. If anything it proves to be something of a spectacle as people everywhere stare in fascination at the light show far above the planet’s surface. But by morning the real damage that the meteor shower has caused begins to make itself apparent as most of the population of England has been blinded by the previous night’s star-gazing. An injured naval officer, Bill Masen, wakes up in hospital with his sight intact thanks to having his head completely bandaged, therefore rendering him unable to witness what was happening. Following the suicide of his now-blind doctor, the unmasked Masen leaves the deserted hospital to find the streets in chaos - people are staggering around unable to see, vehicles have crashed, communications have been lost, etc. As he enters the train station he realises that public transport may be out of the question when the next train fails to stop, crashing into the barriers before hundreds of confused people spill out onto the platform. Among the sightless Masen finds a little girl who had similarly missed the meteor storm and is still able to see. The second consequence of the meteor attack then provides an additional obstacle - it appears that some form of life has been carried to Earth on the rocks in the form of seeds that grow into flesh-eating plants, and these are quickly developing into as genuine threat as, not only are they numbered in the millions, but they can also physically uproot and move towards their intended organic victims. Together Masen and the girl set off towards the safety that he expects to be provided at a Naval base and so begins their expedition south through England and to France. Meanwhile, as they realise what’s going on, a couple of scientists are conducting their own studies in the confines of a secluded lighthouse in the hope of finding a solution to the problem that is threatening the very existence of mankind.

Bearing the production date in mind there are flaws with the film that are reflective of the period: the special effects are usually cumbersome and detract from the overall impact of certain scenes, some of the onscreen ideas can be lacking in verisimilitude (e.g. the blind railway ticket attendant still at his post?!? That’s what you call loyalty!), a ‘wild’ party bringing back fond memories of Carrie Fisher’s segment in Amazon Women on the Moon, the ice-cream van sequence near the end reminding me of the xylophone joke from Monster in the Closet, etc. But, strangely, for all that the adventure that ensues with the two heroes as they cross from one location to another, meeting various survivors on their trek, gradually becomes quite gripping partly due to the fact that the film focuses more so on the human drama that unfolds in the wake of the apocalyptic backdrop. There are snippets of activity here that remind me of things that turned up later on in more widely appreciated movies - the boarding up of the lighthouse for protection (Night of the Living Dead), the radio broadcasts gradually dying off (Dawn of the Dead), the hospital awakening of a hero who finds a devastated London outside (28 Days Later), etc. On the level of an end-of-the-world survival sci-fi drama it works pretty well despite its problems.

Released by BBC Worldwide through a label called Partner Entertainment the transfer is a bit of a mess. The print is well worn, faded, de-saturated, and lacking in definition (not helped by the fact that it’s non-anamorphic), though they try and get themselves off the hook with a statement on the back cover: “Due to the archive nature of this film the sound and picture quality may vary.” Too right it does - it alternates between bad and terrible. The one thing that it has going for it is the fact that it’s almost correctly framed, but otherwise this is not too much better than a VHS picture, though I found a noticeable improvement by boosting the contrast. It’s a point to note though that all DVD releases that I’m aware of are inadequate in this department so, although this disc is difficult to obtain these days, this will have to suffice until something better comes along (I did hear a year or so ago that some sort of restoration was taking place). Note that the John Wyndham novel on which this is loosely based was later adapted again in the 1980s for a BBC a television series, that being released a couple of years ago on DVD.